A measure of relational competence for community-dwelling elderly.
A measure of relational competence was developed to assess the skills necessary for peer friendship development among the elderly. Participants were required to respond to a series of social problem vignettes that were constructed to tap empathy, assertion, and role-taking skills. Validation data were collected as part of a larger project designed to establish indigenous, elderly peer-support telephone dyads among low-income, community-dwelling elderly women. Results indicated that the measure of relational competence was related to initial friendship formation, telephone conversational skills, and rated social competence as determined by judges' ratings of 2 telephone conversations between participants and staff members. The research illustrates the usefulness of moving away from trait conceptions of social competence to a more focused consideration of particular task demands and the skills needed to solve age-linked social problems.
Hogg
J R
JR
Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
Heller
K
K
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support; D013689:Telephone